Thailand July 2019

shapala wrote: »

OH and I just returned from our first trip to Thailand, covering BKK, Chiang Mai, Ao Nang where we did plenty of island hopping and back to BKK for a few days before returning home to Edi.

Flights with Etihad were £360 pp from Edi, flights with Air Asia were about £40ish pp for each segment within the country which included seat pick, hold luggage and a snack. Accomodation differed from a Holiday Inn in BKK (highly recommended btw), guest house in Chiang Mai and a resort type place in Ao Nang for 10 days. We staggered the cost over the past 6 months or so hence we didn't return with a huge bill lol. Taxis are cheap compared to UK and Tuk Tuk you can normally barter quite hard and it's so much fun - the sights, sounds and smells passing the markets etc. We got taxis from all airports to our accommodation - getting from BKK airport to our hotel there took over an hour each time due to terrible congestion which seems the same whatever time of day but never cost more than £12 which is ridiculous when it costs the same in Edi for a 10-15 min ride into town here lol.

I would recommend a day trip to Ayutthaya from BKK (tremendous temples). Wife did a cooking class in Chiang Mai which she loved and we both enjoyed visiting an elephant sanctuary near the city too. When in Ao Nang, we really loved Koh Lanta, and a day trip to Phuket (the weather on both days couldn't have been better with clear blue skies). We managed to barter for a 70% discount from a vendor in Ao Nang for 3 separate island hopping excursions which were worth it - not sure I'd say the same paying full price but you'll roughly receive the same as you'll be travelling in the low season.

Like yourself when you go, we were there during the rain season but it really wasn't as bad as we expected. It tends to be quick, violent storms which didn't take long to pass. Longest I think we endured was a big thunderstorm late at night in Ao Nang which lasted a few hours - it's not like UK where it can rain non-stop for days lol. Make sure to take a good quality poncho (you can buy Frogg Togg's every so often from amazon for £12-15 as what we paid few months ago) and breathable clothes and a couple pairs of comfortable lightweight shoes/trainers as the heat and humidity is immense. A hat is good idea too though you can buy them there cheaply (I got a straw hat for 100 Baht/£2.50 at a market in BKK which lasted the trip). Take suncreams and repellents with you as they can be expensive in Thailand since they're imported. Also, if doing island hopping, take zip lock bags for your electronics - I didn't and regret it - I fell in the sea off a long tail boat after we got hit by a large wave side-on and my phone sadly short circuited and consequently died (fortunately it didn't cost too much but a pain none the less). Everyone who fell in (about 20 of us) were fine but there were a few peeved people who weren't expecting to be chucked into the sea lol.

I'd recommend trying to establish how much money you'll spend and take that in £'s to exchange on the streets for Baht. There's literally hundreds of vendors all over the cities and towns offering near-spot (sometimes better) rates. We took £700 and exchanged when we needed and lasted us almost to the penny for the trip, and probably another £250-300 on our Clarity CC where restaurants and shops would accept a CC (most places we went was cash only).

We really enjoyed our trip and felt we packed quite a bit in. We're hoping to do Vietnam and Cambodia for 3-4 weeks next year. Enjoy the trip - it's a wonderful country with great people!